


Extremities

by AngelofDarkness1605



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-01-10
Packaged: 2018-09-16 16:05:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9279203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelofDarkness1605/pseuds/AngelofDarkness1605
Summary: Mr. Gold gets the rush of a lifetime when Neal drags him to a spectacular show in which Belle, the very lovely woman whom visited his shop that morning, happens to have a major part.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the mind-blowing show Extension by Cirque Inextrémiste.

"Come on papa, let's sit right at the front!"

Grateful that his boy doesn't notice the distrustful glances that the other townspeople cast on them, Mr. Gold reluctantly follows his son to the first row of of seats. If it were up to him, they wouldn't have gone to the upcoming performance at all.

He doesn't like facing his tenants on any usual day and today is far from that. This morning, there was a customer in his shop who was by far the most memorable one in the decades that he's run his business.

To start with, she was actually interested in the items he sells and, yet rarer, made not one but two purchases. Still, it was mostly the way she talked to him which made her unforgettable; she smiled at him more than once, as if he isn't a monster, as if he isn't entirely unlovable to anyone but his son.

Her outside as beautiful as her inside, the warm hand she placed on his lower arm as they talked about her favorite books made him tremble. The pawnbroker is quite certain that he is half in love with the incredible woman whom he only knows as Belle… and whom he'll probably never see again.

She's from out of town, of course, and in his hormone induced haze he forgot where she's from - can't recall whether he actually _tried_ to find out. Being the fool that he is, he did ask her to come back to this shop before she left town tomorrow… entirely forgetting that he had promised Neal to go some sort of performance.

No matter how much he wants to see Belle again, he can't break his promise to his son. So there was nothing for him to do but leave a note for her on the door of his shop, informing her of his regretful absence in case she'll show up, and accompany his boy to the local theater.

"I'm so excited!" Neal exclaims, all but jumping on the seats they have settled themselves on.

Mr. Gold smiles at the boy, telling himself that he has for once done the right thing. Really, it's for the best that he'll never see the kind-hearted beauty again, because their acquaintance will no doubt only lead to more heartache if he were to get to know her better.

If anything, he'll never know if she'll actually visit his shop when he's away. If she'll never turn up, at least he won't know for certain.

"It's going to start," his boy says excitedly when the lights dim.

The pawnbroker nods in agreement for his son's sake, in his mind's eye seeing the wonderful woman he met that morning rather than the stage in front of him. He mentally returns to the present only when an excavator of all things is driven to the middle of the stage, the sheer noise of the machine and the awed gasps in the audience around him reminding him of the show he's watching.

Still, he's quickly back in a daydream in which Belle and he are still talking and he finds the courage to actually ask her out. Indeed, it it weren't for his son's hand grasping his arm, he wouldn't be aware at all of the mind-boggling stunts of the two men who have entered the stage. They balance, jump over and even balance on top wooden planks and - presumably empty - gas canisters. It's impressive enough, even before the excavator is included in the rather dangerous looking balancing act.

The pawnbroker is lost in his daydream to the extent that it takes him a while to find out that he isn't only thinking about Belle, but that she has actually entered the stage, taking part in the performance with the two men.

"The lady is the most awesome of them all," Neal whispers to him after she has made a tricky jump six feet or so above the stage, making his stomach turn.

Mr. Gold very much agrees with his son, although he still can't quite believe that sweet and lovely _Belle_ has a central part in this adrenaline-driven performance. He all but holds his breath when her petite and delicate self balances precariously on top of a long wooden plank as it is lifted by the excavator as high as it can go.

He didn't care all that much before that there isn't a single safety line or anything remotely resembling any such a measure in sight, but now he wishes that there would be at least _something_ to protect her in case of an accident.

Belle has exchanged her fashionable skirt and blouse for baggy clothes, including a hoodie, and a practical ponytail to secure her chestnut curls. Her face glistening with perspiration and determined focus, she looks yet lovelier to him than she did that morning.

His heart beating rapidly, his throat unpleasantly tight and heat rushing through his veins, the pawnbroker wonders whether this is what it feels like to be in love.

By now he's very grateful indeed that Neal persuaded him to come here. At the same time, that makes it only more frustrating that the light and music is dimmed far sooner than he'd thought, implying the end of the show which he would be happy to watch for the rest of his life now that it turns out that Belle is in it.

Still, that disappointment disappears immediately when she hops off the stage and heads into the audience, a microphone in hand as she addresses them. Her words don't register in his mind however even as he hears them on the venue's speaker. That's why he has no idea why it suddenly goes very quiet in the audience and she looks expectantly through the crowd.

"She's looking for a volunteer for the next act," Neal whispers to him excitedly, clearing up his confusion.

Before Mr. Gold has fully processed that information, Belle's brilliant blue eyes focus on him, widening in recognition. He's got no idea whether that's a good thing or not, especially when she walks towards him.

"I really hoped that I'd see you here," she says, lowering the microphone.

"So did I," he brings out.

"Would you like to…"

Once more, her words are lost on him now that she's standing right next to him. When she questioningly extends her hand to him, all he can do is take it, hoping despite himself that he'll never have to let go of her again when her slightly damp palm meets his clammy one.

That's how Mr. Gold follows her onto the stage, oblivious to how the audience collectively gasps and his son almost falls off his seat in anticipation.

He isn't quire aware either that the two male performers have somehow lodged the edge of a long plank between the bucket of the excavator and its arm. Only when she gently takes his cane from his had and links her arm in his to guide him to the plank which the machine currently elevates about two feet above the floor, it begins to dawn on the pawnbroker what he just agreed to.

Eyes widening in panic at the prospect of participating in a probably jaw-dropping stunt of the kind he just witnessed, he looks at Belle in a silent plea.

"You'll be with me at all times and you'll be perfectly safe," she says softly, placing a comforting hand on his upper arm. "But you don't _have_ to do this, obviously. You can go back to your seat if you like."

In any other situation, he would very much have chosen that last option. But there's something in her gaze and posture alike which persuades him to go with her and participate in the show after all.

Granted, he doesn't feel very secure when she helps him sit and subsequently lie down on the wooden plank, his feet braced against the bucket of the excavator and his hands holding on painfully to the plank he's lying on.

The music is turned on again and hundred pairs of eyes are fixed on him when the excavator begins to move once more. The previously horizontal plank on which he is lying is tilted slowly but surely to a vertical angle by the machine, whereas the excavator begins to swirl around itself simultaneously.

His hand and feet scrambling for the limited support they can get, he fears that this won't be nearly enough to keep him in place, especially when the plank is tilted so far that he's basically standing upright.

But before something unpleasant can happen, Belle easily jumps easily onto the excavator as it spins them around with still increasing speed and altitude. She comes to stand right against him, facing him, her feet on either side of his.

"I'm personally going to keep you safe, Mr. Gold," she says, smiling at him.

No matter how much he savors those words, they are forgotten when it turns out that she's going to do so by bodily keeping him in place. Keeping him securely held against the plank that way, there's practically no distance left between their bodies.

This development leaves him breathless, his heart pounding in his chest, but that no longer has anything to do with the fact that he's currently in a glorified centrifuge. The only truly exhilarating part of this is the fact that her body is pressed now none too lightly against his own.

"Is this all right?" she asks, gesturing between their bodies, her voice only barely heard over the loud music that accompanies the act.

It's beyond him how _she_ can possibly want anything like this, but for as long as she is fine with it, he very much is as well. So he nods in response to her question, not trusting himself to speak.

"Good," she responds, smiling as if she actually _likes_ their closeness.

The audience and the rest of the stage flashes in his peripheral vision, but all the landlord sees are her beautiful blue eyes. As if their current nearness isn't enough yet, she moves yet closer to him when the machine begins to twirl them around as quickly as it can presumably go.

Her breasts already pressing against his chest, her thighs shift to cradle his protectively. As if that isn't wonderful and terrifying enough yet, she locks her arms behind the plank he's leaning back against rather than holding on to the plank itself, reducing the space between their faces to mere inches.

"I'm very glad that you are here, Mr. Gold," she says, her breath hot against his skin.

Driven by a force stronger than himself, he takes his hands off the wood he was clinging to and questioningly moves them to her waist instead. When she nods in approval, he places his palms right above her hips, taken aback in the best way possible by her warmth and softness.

In fact, said warmth and softness extends to every place where their bodies touch… which is just about anywhere at this point. He can't help but groan out loud at the incredible contact, hoping with all his might that the loud music covers the pathetic and inappropriate sound so the audience won't hear it - and, yet more so, that _she_ won't hear it.

"I'd like to try something," she says, indicating that she luckily hasn't heard him. "Can you hold me up while keeping your own feet on the bucket?"

Understanding what she means, the pawnbroker tightens his hold on her waist to lift her off her feet. This keeps her upper body in place while she changes position - only for him to almost drop her when he finds out how she's rearranging herself around him this time.

She may have pinned him in place before, but Belle is _straddling_ him now that she locks her legs behind the plank which his back is pressed against, like her arms already are. The sheer intimacy of their once more increased nearness is nearly overwhelming, especially when he reminds himself that she hadn't done this if she didn't actually _want_ to be in this position with him.

But of course, she has no idea of the effect she has on him and the very inappropriate direction in which his thoughts are turning. She _shouldn't_ have, not ever. The last thing he wants to do is make her uncomfortable; it would be completely wrong, even if she hadn't been so incredibly kind to him.

To his horror, his body catches up on the forbidden route which his mind is taking. He may have been convinced that any desire he ever felt for anyone left him along with his wife when she exchanged him for a much younger and more handsome man, but his arousal returns at the worst moment possible.

Belle is holding him more tightly than anyone ever has, her breath hot against his neck and her gorgeous curls tickling his face. No matter how much he wants to stop himself, there's nothing he can do to prevent himself from hardening against her belly.

He wills himself to _stop_ for all he is worth – which admittedly has never been much – but there's no holding back the way his body reacts to her. There's no sign either that the act they're still part of is going to end anytime soon and now that they're still being twirled around by the excavator, there's also no way that he can simply remove himself from her.

In fact, he can't even put a few inches of distance between them without risking mortally injuring both of them... although this might as well be preferable to horrifying her with his body's completely inappropriate reaction. The landlord can't even decide whether it would be worse to let her find out about his current state on her own accord or to warn her somehow.

Every breath of air he takes, every trace of her scent, every shift of pressure has him twitching. There's no way that she can't feel his doubtlessly unwelcome excitement... especially when she rearranges her grip on him, cradling his embarrassment right between her thighs.

Sweat pouring down his face, Mr. Gold can't help but cry out at the increased friction and the yet more intimate way she is pressed against him now. Rather than reacting in all the disgusted ways he was convinced she would, she _smiles_... and rubs her chest against his.

All his self control gone, he _growls_ and instinctively bucks his hips into hers... only for her to smile yet wider and repeat her movements. As she brings her head yet nearer to his, her eyes closed, he can't deny that it seems like she _enjoys_ this... all of this.

"You feel so good," she says into his ear, her voice just audible over the loud music of the show.

Whimpering with disbelief and desire alike, he begins to think that she can make him come undone right here and now - that he actually _wants_ her to. After all, she is somehow _willing_ to do this and with the noise and dim light surrounding them, it's not as if anyone will ever know... and it's not as if he'll ever remotely get the chance to experience something like this again.

Of course, in the very moment he realizes that he _desires_ whatever she is offering him, the excavator begins to slow down. It indicates the end of the act that he is part of, and thus the end of the incredible nearness of Belle and himself.

Despite his overwhelmed senses, Mr. Gold doesn't miss the look of unmistakable disappointment on her face as the machine comes to a stop and the plank is angled horizontally once more... leaving her lying firmly on top of him, his arousal still pressing insistently against her.

Only when the almost deafening applause of the audience vaguely registers in his mind, he fully recalls that the world still contains more people than just Belle and himself - that in fact at least half of the town, his son included, witnessed what just happened.

Belle very generously shields his still very excited body with her own once the lights come back on and she guides him off stage, an apologetic smile on her face when they reach a blissfully quiet area.

"I have to go back for the next act soon," she says, not letting go of him even though they aren't moving any longer.

"Can I see you again afterwards?" he blurts out, barely able to think beyond what they just shared, that this might as well be the last minute he spends with her.

"I'd really like that. I'm free after this show. You can pick me up here."

"We can go to my home?" he asks, all but pleading. "Or to the shop if you prefer?"

"I'd love to come to your home," she replies, beaming at him as if there's nothing she'd rather do.

As if all of this isn't wonderful enough yet either, Belle leans in to him and presses her lips against his, overwhelming him with heat and adrenaline which makes all what they just did pale in comparison. He instinctively follows her when she withdraws after what might be a second or a minute.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." he mutters when it belatedly dawns on him what he has done – only for her to crash her mouth against his, considerably more firmly than before, her tongue finding his.

He kisses her back to the best of his abilities, limited as they doubtlessly are, although he takes some encouragement in the fact that she appears to be gasping and moaning as loudly as he is himself.

"I _really_ have to go," she rasps when she withdraws again, resting her hands on his chest and neck. "But I can't _wait_ to see you again."

"Neither can I," he mutters, this time having the presence of mind to write down his contact details and hand them to her, delighted that she does the same on the back on one of his business cards.

"You can stay here for as long as you like," she says, glancing meaningfully down at the part of him which still obscenely betrays his ever growing interest in her. "You can watch the rest of the show from backstage too."

"Thank you for the invitation, but I'll return to my seat when I'm somewhat... presentable again. I don't want my son to worry."

He tenses, both because of the belated realizations that his son is all on his own now and that she didn't know yet that he has a child in the first place. Fortunately, she doesn't blink an eye – and Neal is probably far too engrossed in the rest of the show to realize that his father hasn't returned just yet.

"I'll see you after the show," she says, squeezing his hands before rushing back to the stage.

Breathing in some much needed air, Mr. Gold leans back against the wall, closing his eyes as he smiles broader than he has done in a very long time. He can't wait to tell about Neal about Belle and their performance – well, a... censored version of it, obviously – but for now he remains right where he is. Catching his breath, he is convinced that what is still to come will be yet more incredible than what Belle and he already shared.


End file.
